Mollie Woods Hare (August 30, 1881 – January 19, 1956) was an American educator. In 1913, she founded the Woods Schools in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, serving students with intellectual disabilities.
Mollie Woods Hare | |
|---|---|
 Mollie A. Woods (later Hare), from a 1917 newspaper | |
| Born | Mollie Ainscow Woods August 30, 1881 Duncannon, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | January 19, 1956 (aged 74) Langhorne, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Educator |
Early life
editMollie Ainscow Woods was born in Duncannon, Pennsylvania, the daughter of McClellan Woods and Jean (Jennie) Harkinson Woods. She trained as a teacher at a normal school in Philadelphia,[1] with further studies under Edward Ransom Johnstone at the Vineland Training School in New Jersey.[2][3]
Career
editIn 1902, Woods became principal of a Philadelphia public school for "retarded and truant boys".[1] In 1913, Woods and her sister, a nurse, founded the Woods Schools to educate students with intellectual disabilities.[4] It was located in their home in Roslyn, Pennsylvania[5] until 1921, then in Langhorne.[6] On the later, larger campus, she added housing and a Child Research Clinic to expand the school's mission.[7] There were more than 40 buildings in the schools' complex by 1948.[8] The schools became a private non-profit run by a board of trustees when she retired as its director in 1949.[1][9]
In 1939, Hare received an honorary degree from Temple University,[10][11] and traveled to Geneva as a delegate to the Congress of the International Association for the Education of Exceptional Children.[12]
Personal life and legacy
editMollie A. Woods married John Ridgeway Hare in 1919.[13] Her husband died in 1944,[14] and she died in 1956, at the age of 74, in Langhorne.[1][15] A historical marker about Hare was placed in Langhorne in 2010.[16] The Woods Schools continued after her death,[17][18] though changing professional practices, laws, and social expectations shaped the school over the decades.[19] Woods Services is now a national network of programs for disabled clients of all ages.[4] Woods Services gives an annual Mollie Award, named for Hare, to outstanding employees.[20][21]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Mrs. Mollie Hare, Founded Schools; Leader in Special Education of Retarded Children in Pennsylvania Is Dead". The New York Times. January 21, 1956. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ "Elected Woods School President; Succeeds Mollie Woods Hare". The Bristol Daily Courier. September 22, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Mollie Woods Hare". The Training School Bulletin. 36 (4): 76. June 1939 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b Woods Services, About Us.
- ^ "Backward Children's Minds Trained by Two Young Women". Evening Public Ledger. February 2, 1917. p. 9. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ The Handbook of Private Schools. P. Sargent. 1926. p. 547.
- ^ "Women's History". Langhorne Council for the Arts. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ "Man Hurt in Woods Schools Fire". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 20, 1948. p. 21. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Woman Seeks School Charter; Duncannon Native". Harrisburg Telegraph. June 6, 1947. p. 17. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1224 in Temple Graduating Class Hear Appeal by Dr. Heiser for U.S. Health Conservation". The Philadelphia Inquirer. June 16, 1939. p. 4. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Mollie Woods Hare Receives Degree". Duncannon Record. June 22, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Woods School Represented at International Congress". Journal of Exceptional Children. 6 (1): 38. October 1939 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Marriage Licenses". Harrisburg Telegraph. August 19, 1919. p. 12. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "John R. Hare Dies at His Home in Langhorne". The Bristol Daily Courier. February 7, 1944. p. 1. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Mollie Woods Hare". Duncannon Record. January 27, 1956. p. 3. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mollie Woods Hare" Historical Marker Database.
- ^ Ying, Diane (December 12, 1968). "Self-Destructive Child Given Chance for Normal Life". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 81, 91. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Raftery, Kay (August 19, 1984). "At the Woods Schools, Good Cheer Abounds at a Dedication". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 266. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Woestendiek, John (November 1, 1981). "Strike Raises Questions at Special Bucks School". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 1B, 10B, 11B. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Heads Above the Crowd". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 8, 1994. p. 210. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Honors". The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 18, 1995. p. 86. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.